Seatholders provide working capital and help spread the word

Apr. 24, 2013

Written by

Eric Warnstedt

Hen of the Wood Restaurant in Waterbury is in the process of opening a restaurant in Burlington in the new Hotel Vermont — with the help of a few of our friends.

Welcome to the Seatholder Program.

Hen of the Wood is intended to be a distinguished gathering place that is supported by our community. To celebrate the new space, raise capital and promote ourselves, we opened up the development process to community participation by inviting our customers to become Seatholders. The invitation was sent to everyone on our email list, posted on our Facebook page and then kindly shared by a few friends on their Facebook pages.

A Seatholder contributes money up front, which is used to build the business and help with the costs of expanding into our new space. In return, the Seatholder is given primary access to reservations, invitations to special events and a 15 percent discount for the life of the business, including the Waterbury location.

There’s also a host of other benefits, including a sort of a concierge service within the regular reservation system. By seeking contributions from the community in advance — call it a modern-day barn-raising — the Seatholder program creates a sense of pride and ownership. And if a Seatholder patronizes the business often enough, the Seatholdership pays back measurably.

The concept of communities supporting their homegrown businesses, which in turn support the communities, is not a new idea. As the concept has become re-energized, it is allowing many hard-working entrepreneurs to build their own businesses by relying on the support of their friends, neighbors and customers.

People can decide the kinds of businesses they want in their cities, and those businesses will, in turn, support the communities from which they originate. For example, Hen Burlington will create almost 40 jobs for the region, as well support many other companies that brew beer and distill spirits, sell tea, coffee and wine, make dairy products and bake bread, grow vegetables, raise animals and many, many others.

Our biggest asset has been our gracious and professional staff. I believe we are good at taking care of our regulars. It is a very enjoyable and gratifying part of this silly business. Our goal then is simple; create more regulars. These regulars are also a built-in community voice for the restaurant. It is in their best interest for us to succeed, so hopefully they will bring friends and spread the word and in turn we will do our best to show them a good experience every time they join us.

Eric Warnstedt is the chef/co-owner of Hen of the Wood Restaurant in Waterbury.